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| Dry camping at the "Eclipse Rally" |
We were going to make a slow but steady journey from Shreveport to Nampa, ID, where we'll spend most of our summer. Then Mark had his eye appointment with the ophthalmologist to see what could be done about his cloudy eye. The good news is it was an easy fix-- a laser surgery procedure they did on the spot. The bad news is they wanted him to return in thirty days for a follow up.
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| Ready for the big day |
In the meantime we had an eclipse to see. So off we went to view what will probably be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with a few dozen Alfa friends at a little campground in Bandara, Texas, right in the center of the path. Much to our disappointment, on the day of the eclipse, Bandara was overcast. Who expected that?! So, the event was less than spectacular.
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| View through the filter |
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| Naked eye |
The next day, we moved our RV to a campground on the other side of Bandara for the annual "Alfa Owners Rally," where 50 or so Alfa RV owners gathered with their rigs for a week of activities, mostly geared to technical stuff for the guys, though they did have a nice ladies' luncheon that I attended where I got to meet some new people.
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| Sue Rogers organized the event (she and husband, Tom, are our Alfa Roadrunner club presidents) |
Mark attended most of the "Tech Talks" to refresh his knowledge base on the Alfa and potentially pick up some new information. We both attended a fire safety presentation, after which I won a raffle drawing for a kitchen stove fire blanket, now suitably installed on a cabinet door next to the stove... just in case. We also replaced our smoke alarm, which was on its last leg. Our house is already supplied with three fire extinguishers-- one in the front, one in the back, and one in the basement... just in case.
We were reminded how devastating fire can be, especially in RVs, which are notorious for going up in flames in a matter of minutes. We passed this tragedy on the highway...
After the rally, we headed back to Shreveport for Mark's eye appointment. His eye is doing great, by the way. Except for a few buggy floaters that should eventually go away, his vision has returned to normal. Well, normal for him.
Another issue that was uncovered with an inspection by some of his Alfa buddies was a problem with the rollers on our big slide. So when we left Shreveport, we headed back to see Ronnie Wolfe at his Alfa Shop in Choudrant, LA, to make the necessary adjustments. Now our slide rolls in more or less perfectly and we shouldn't have any more problems with it, at least for a while. By the way, check out our new floor. No more nasty dirty carpet.
We were finally free to head north to Minnesota. Mark's sister-in-law Maxine (Merlin's wife) had passed away recently and her memorial service was scheduled for May 1. That gave us six days to get from central Louisiana to southern Minnesota. Hurry, hurry, hurry. Two days of travel, two rest days, and three days of travel later we arrived at Maegan's house (Mark's daughter) where we will be for eighteen days. Then we're hurrying west to arrive in Nampa, ID, by June 1, where we'll rest again for two months while I help watch over my lovely granddaughter, Sophie, during her summer vacation.
Part of the reason for this recent hurry cycle has to do with the difficulty in finding inexpensive campgrounds along the way. Thousand Trails has virtually nothing in the central states, and RPI parks have started adding what they call "resort fees" that range anywhere from $10-20 a night (in addition to RPI's standard $10/night rate). It's beginning to look like our days of cheap camping are over. So we've opted to spend extra time parked in the family driveway at the wonderfully reduced price of $0.
One last note...
I'm thinking about closing out this blog at the end of the year and calling it a good run. I invite you to help me in my decision by taking a moment to let me know in the comments if you would like to see the blog continue.
Until next time, God bless and safe travels to all!
